Centrifugal pump



(No Model.)

H. A. BARBER. GENTRIFUG-AL PUMP.

ll lLlul-L Patented Mar. 3,1, 1896.

UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

lllll'RY A. BARBER, OI" 'ATERTO\VN, NPHV YORK.

CENTRIFUGAL. PUMP.

. I SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 557,300, dated March 31, 1896.

I Application filed June 5,1895. Serial No. 551,773. No modelfl To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY A. BARBER, a citizen of the United Statesn'esiding at iVatertown, in the county of Jefferson and State of New York,have invented certain new and usef ul Improvements in Centrifugal Pumps; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to centrifugal pumps, air-blowers, and similar devices utilized to project a lluid of any description whatsoever, but principally aims to provide improvements on the centrifugal pump shown and described in United States Letters Patent- No. 526,330, granted me September 18, 1804.

In pumps of the. class to which my patent referred to relates a vast amount of skinfriction is encountered, which, in obedience to a well-known law of mechanics, increases direcilyas the square of the number of revolutions of the piston. In other words, if the number of revolutions of the piston were doubled four times the initial resistance would be encountered, and tripling the number of revolutions would be met by a resistance nine times that of the initial resistance, &c. ll'cretol'orc this skin-friction has been overcome to a greater or less degree, but highly satisfactory results havenot as yet been obtained; and a fu rlher object of my in: vention is to provide llu p roved means whereby this skin-friction may be more satisfactorily. overcome and a greater amount of fluid projected with a less amouni of expenditure of power than heretofore.

tion of a pump embodying my invention; Figs. 2 and 3, enlarged sectional views of the pump-casing, the piston, and the rotary shell, taken, respectively, on lines 2 2 and 3 I; of Fig. 1; and Fig. l, a detail view of a substitute form of piston adapted for use in blowers for ventilating purposes, blowers for forges, &c.

A represents asuit able bed or foundation adapted forthe attachment at one end thereof of the pump-casing 1. v

As in my former patent, I employ a pistoncarrying shaft 2, which is jou'rnaled in suitable boxes 3,-supported upon standards 4: rising from the foundation A, and in boxes or glands in the sides of the pump-casing, the said shaft being bored longitudinally from one'end to provide an inlet or induction passage 5. A suitable drive-pulley for the shaft is shown at (3. The casing l is substantially the same as that shown in my former patent, being provided with a suitable discharge-oriiice 7 and differing only-in that it is recessed immediately around, the shaft 2, as shown at 8, to serve a purpose hereinafter set forth.

The disk piston is shown at 9 and is substantiallythcsamea's'that shown in my former patent referred to, being provided with a series of radial passages 1 all of which lead from the periphery of the piston inward and communicate with the inlet or induction passage 5 when the piston is keyed to the shaft. *3. Holes 11 arebored transversely of the piston and are so positioned that they will not intersect the radial passages 1 These holes serve to keep the pressure of the fluid in an equilibrium, which might otherwise be disturbed were they omitted, owing to the operation of devices which will be hereinafter described. For the sake of strength and to allow of high speed, the shaft 2 is enlarged at the point where the rotary piston is keyed thereto, as shown at 12. Integral hubs 13 project a slight distance from the faces of the piston and serve a purpose described hereinafter.

I will now describe that portion of the presenf structure in which my real invention resides, the foregoing constructiolrbeing shown in substantially the same form in my formcr patent. V

-- inserted when d d, The hubs aiford a wear of the shaft at this point without mateially weakening it, suitable bushings being long bearing and act to keep the casing in position, and by being received in the recesses 8 permit of a more compact arrangement of the parts. It will also be observed that hubs 13 projecting from the piston serve to allow the shell 1st to rotate freely with its inner faces in close proximity to, yet never engagingwith, the faces of the piston, which would result in a-creation of friction and defeat the very object of the present invention, as will appear hereinafter. This outer shell or casing ll is of an internal diameter only a trifle ;with a pump-casing and rotary piston located greater than that of the rotary piston, and is provided with a series of peripheral orifices 16, these orifices being brought into communication by an annular groove 17 formed on the inner face of the rim of the shell.

When the piston is made to revolve, it encounters-what is known as skin-friction,

before referred to in this specification and my former patent, with what water may not have been projected from the pump-casing 1, and which proves a serious obstacle to the efficient working of the pump, inasmuch as the resist ance thus met with increases rapidly with an increase of the number of revolutions of the piston in the proportion heretofore referred to, thereby absorbing much power which might otherwise be utilized inprojecting the fluid-from the pump.

By the employment of the shell or casing with a pump-casing, of a rotary piston hav- 14 I obtain highly superior results over the old construction. This shell being free to loosely revolve, when the rotary piston revolves it. communicates motion through the thin film of water between it and the inner faces of the shell, causing the latter to ultimately attain about one-half the number of revolutions of the piston. The water is drawn intothe rotary piston and projected therefrom in-the usual manner and finds its way through the orifices-16 of the shell and thence out of -the discharge orifice of the outer pumpcasing.. The groove 17 takes up the water projectedfrom the piston and leads it to the orifices in the shell. The holes 11 permit the water to pass through the piston and thereby .be kept atan equilibrium of pressure thereabout. By the employment of this looselyrevolving shell I find that the amount of skinfriction ordinarily encountered is reduced by about seventy-five per cent., thereby allowing of a much greater efficiency. It is not essential that the casing or shell ll be made with a rim having the orifices 16 therein, as

excellent results are obtained by dispensing with the rim and merely using the sides or faces of the shell, each of. which revolves independently. Neithcr is it necessary to employ a rotary circular disk piston, as very good results are obtained by using the winged form of piston shown in Fig. 3.

My invention in its various modifications can be applied to all forms of apparatus whereby fluids are projected by centrifugal force, the form of piston shown in Fig. 8 and its various modifications, such as used in the Harmon pump, being applicable to pumps or blowers for ventilatingpurposcs, blowers for forges, &c. Therefore I do not confine myself to the exact construction herein shown and described, but consider myself entitled to all such variations as come within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what i I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1'. In a centrifugal pump, the combination therein, of a device for diminishing skin-friction between the piston and the fluid within the pump-casing, which device consists of .an independent body loosely and revolubly mounted in relation to the piston and located within the pump-casin g, being separated from the piston by a fluid-space through which motion is communicated from the piston to the revoluble body to set the latter in revolution, when the piston is in operation.

2. In a centrifugal pump or blower, the combination with an outer pump-casing and a piston, of an independent and loosely mounted shell surrounding the piston and adapted to be set in revolution by motion communicated to it through the fluid within the casing, sub- ;stantially as described.

3. In a centrifugal pump, thecombination ing transverse passages affording communication from one face of the piston to the opposite face, and an independent body loosely and revolubly mounted in relation to the piston and located within the pump-casing, being separated from the piston by a fluid-space through which motion is communicated from the piston to the revoluble body to set the latter in revolution.

4. In a centrifugal'pump or blower, the combination with an outer pump-casing, of a rotary piston provided with a series of radial discharge-passages, and mounted on ashaft having an inlet or induction passage formed therein and in communication with the discharge-passages in the piston, and an outer shell or casing mounted loosely on the said piston-shaft and adapted for revolution independently thereof, and surrounding and incasing the said piston, the said shell being provided with peripheral discharge-passages an d an annular groove formed on the interior of the shell and affording communication between the laterally mentioned passages, whereby In witness whereof I aflix my signature in when the rotary piston revolves motion is presence of two witnesses.

communicated through the fluid from the piston to the shell that surrounds it, causing the HENRY A. BARBER.

5 same to revolve thereby reducing skin-fric- Witnesses:

tion of the piston with the-fluid, substantially D. W. BALDWIN, as described. LOUIS O. GREENLEAF. 

